87 RWP original rating; 90 Winetex; $38

This was the first of the wines from the cellar liquidation I mentioned in earlier posts. This is a low-end, village-level Burgundy from an excellent producer. Given its age everything about the bottle was pristine. The cork was soaked almost all of the way through which could indicate that this was close to the end of its life.

Not much nose right out of the bottle. I let it stay open but not decanted for about 20 minutes before pouring the first taste. The color was a bright red ruby with a small amount of bricking at the very edge. After it warmed up it became very aromatic with cassis, cherries and cigar box on the nose. The fruit had faded significantly giving it restrained cherry notes in the middle. It had structure and complexity with cigar box in the middle and on a very long finish. It was just lovely from start to finish and a steal on the $$ to boot.

Question for very experienced Burgundy drinkers – is cigar box something you would normally find with an aged Burgundy? I’ve had 4 very aged Burgs and each of them was substantially different. This one had an amazing structure for a village-level wine.

I generally get cigar box aromas in Bordeaux particularly Graves/Pessac Leognan not Burgundy.

It was different than my previous experience hence my question. I have not had enough Leroy wines to judge but I understand she does some interesting things with the oak. It may remain a mystery!

I've had some spiced cedar notes from aged Burgundy, but they were often from more "masculine" regions and over-ripe vintages. Can't say about Domaine Leroy Santenay as I've never had it.

This isn't a Domaine Leroy bottling. Domaine Leroy started in 1988 with her purchase of an existing domaine in the Cote D'or (Hudellot Noellot IIRC). This is a negociant Leroy wine.

You are correct - this is from their negociant business. Madame Bize was the winemaker.

Thank you for clearing that up Jones.